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11 July 2010

SBY Visits Tama Satrya Langkun in Hospital...

Time for some sarcasm (or is it legitimate commentary?)...

The President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, paid a visit to the hospital to visit Tama Satrya Langkun and wish him a speedy recovery. In reality, this was nothing more than a photo opportunity and a chance to spruik a non-existent anti-corruption policy.

The president came to the presidency on a platform of anti-corruption and as the real deal as a corruption fighter. This was at best a pipe dream, at worst it was a calculated piece of electioneering that found a niche in the voting populace. In essence, this was nothing more than a electoral promise destined to be broken.

Not to miss out on an opportunity, the president had this to say to reporters after his visit, “Whatever the challenges, obstacles and threats that are being experienced by all who combat corruption, this big mission has to continue.” Just reading that should leave one shaking their head going, "whatever!"

This man, the president, has not proven to be a corruption fighter. If anything, he has proven that he is beholden to powerful interests and is more intent on survival than he is on leaving a legacy to which he can be rightfully proud. If there is one glaring example of this failure to confront vested interests and political corruption it is the fact that the poor residents in Sidoarjo and the surrounding villages have still not been properly compensated for their losses arising from the ongoing mud extrusion that by all legitimate accounts is directly attributable to the family companies of one Aburizal Bakrie.

The president is a corruption fighter whose presidential legacy is going to be what, the fact that corruption continued and continues to flourish under his watch. Nice legacy Mr. President!

But, it gets better because not wanting to miss out while he is on a roll, the president went on to add that “The show must go on. We should not be afraid of any threats and acts of violence.” Now, that is easy for you to say Mr. President as you have a presidential guard and a bevy of beefy looking young men guarding you, closing down roads so that you can pass unhindered by the masses, and ensuring that you enjoy all the perks of office. Yes, the show must go on, and thankfully that show is not dependent on you, but rather on the brave souls like Tama Satrya Langkun.

The idea that "we" should not be afraid of any threats or acts of violence is so easy to say when it is not you that is going to be subject to those threats or to that violence. Let's face it, the threats and violence might be less intimidating if there was a real chance that the perpetrators of this violence were likely to be caught and prosecuted to the full extent to the prevailing laws and regulations. However, it has been more than 5 years since Munir was assassinated on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam and none of the ring leaders of that crime have been brought to justice. You promised "us" many times that you would ensure that justice would be done and those that committed such a heinous crime would be prosecuted. So, forgive us Mr. President if we think your words are hollow and mean less than the paper they are written on or the airwaves which they cross.

Your legacy will be as the teflon president, nothing sticks! This is a terrible shame and an even greater disappointment to all of those many many many Indonesians who voted for you and hoped that under your stewardship their lives would get not only a little better, but a lot better.

Having been out of Indonesia for a while now, I am finding myself becoming a little more ranty and railly in my posts on Indonesia. But, it really is only those posts that relate to SBY. The bloke is not what he said he was or would be. To some that might be politics as usual, to others that might make him a fraud!

I can be a bit of a procrastinator myself. My problem is though that I can afford to be and have not yet been caught short. I seem to procrastinate until I have just enough time left to get stuff done. It is my weakness, not one that I am proud of, but one that I can live with (to compensate I volunteer to take on even more stuff so I have less time to procrastinate - weird eh?)

Yep, SBY's legacy is going to be his songs. Not much of a legacy, I say. How say you?

She is not one to miss an opportunity either. I guess that is what politicians do, right?

On that front, Megawati has been known to whisper sweet nothings in the people's ears. She had a shot at the big chair and failed to deliver.

My greatest hope for Indonesia is that over the next 5 - 10 years there is some real quality that steps forward to take up the political mantle and govern in the interests of the greatest number of Indonesians.

The younger generation is there. But, as I have said before, there needs to be a recognition that there is no greater good than serving the public interest. We just need to convince the youths of our world to believe in this (this is partly why I changed focus and got into teaching)...